Special rights follow-up

Imagine if the trial lawyers began suing General Motors or Ford Motor Co. every time a drunken driver caused damage. The automobile industry would be crippled, and this would have been the likely outcome for the firearms industry as well.

Interestingly, the Strib identified Nygaard as an
"operations director" from Big Lake, Minnesota. More
relevant might be the fact that he is the the 6th District
GOP party chair.

What of the merit of the argument, though? That suing a
gun manufacturer is like suing a car maker for the act of a
drunk driver. Not quite. Here's one suit that
would be blocked:

If the bill becomes law...it will eradicate the case brought
by the family of Danny Guzman, a 26-year-old father of two
who was shot in the chest on Christmas Eve, 1999, as he
entered a Worcester pub....

...the gun that killed him was one that a Kahr employee
sold from parts he had stolen from work. Since the guns had
not yet been stamped with a serial numbers, they could not
be traced, according to the lawsuit.

The family has been in court for two years, seeking
damages from Kahr on the grounds that the company was
negligent in not doing background checks on its employees or
providing adequate security at the plant.

Lawyers with the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence and
Mark LeWinter of the Anapol Schwartz law firm today filed a
lawsuit on behalf of the family of Faheem Thomas-Childs, the
10 year-old Philadelphia boy who was shot and killed as he
walked through the gates of his elementary school, on
February 11, 2004. The suit seeks to recover damages from
the gun companies who negligently supplied the gang members
who shot him with the Ruger handgun used to kill Faheem.

The suit alleges that American Gun and Lock (f/k/a
Fishtown Lock and Gun), of Girard Avenue in Philadelphia,
negligently sold the murder weapon in a straw sale to gang
members. A criminal, who was not permitted to buy guns,
accompanied the straw purchaser to the store, picked out the
gun, and supplied the money to the straw purchaser who did
the paperwork for the transaction. The store's clerk even
charged a "handling fee" for the straw purchase, which the
criminal paid. American Gun had sold guns to several other
gun traffickers over the years.

Should a manufacturer of a product designed to kill
exercise some care of the employees it hires? Should a
seller of a product designed to kill follow the law when
selling the product? Juries have traditionally answered such
questions. The NRA and the Republican party are afraid of
what Americans would think when they hear such terrible
tales of negligence.

The Congress has made it easier to get guns in
the hands of criminals. Remember this law the next time
someone says gun control doesn't work -- it's because
Republicans don't want it to work.

Addendum: Nygaard also argues: "Remember, these are the same
firearms manufacturers that produce the various firearms and
bullets used by our troops in Iraq and around the world. Do
we really want to rely on foreign countries to supply our
military with guns in times of war?"

Beretta USA makes the standard military side arm. Beretta
USA is actually a subsidiary of an Italian company: Beretta
Holding SpA. One more fraudulent argument down the drain.